13th Mar 2020 11:13
(Note: following article refers to Triple Point Social Housing REIT, note Triple Point Income VCT.)
(Alliance News) - Triple Point Social Housing REIT PLC on Friday reported a strong performance for 2019, raising its dividend on increases in net asset value and rental income.
For the year, the real estate investment trust reported a pretax profit of GBP23.7 million, up 19% from GBP19.9 million the year before, on rental income that grew by 83% to GBP21.1 million from GBP11.5 million in 2018.
This more than offset a lower gain on the fair value adjustment on investment properties at GBP11.8 million from GBP14.5 million.
Triple Point's net asset value per share at the end of December was 105.37 pence, up 1.7% from 103.65p at the end of 2018.
The rise in rental income and net asset value was driven by an increase in the trust's portfolio value by 47% to GBP503.8 million from GBP343.7 million the prior year.
On an IFRS basis, the portfolio value rose by 46% to GBP471.6 million from GBP323.5 million.
During the year, Triple Point Social Housing acquired 116 properties for a total investment cost of GBP130.5 million, bringing the total portfolio to 388 properties.
Triple Point declared a total dividend of 5.095 pence per share, up from 5.00p the year before, and in line with the company's target.
Looking ahead, the trust is targeting a further rise in its 2020 dividend, underpinned by anticipated growth in income.
"We look forward to 2020 with optimism. This follows another successful year in 2019 which has set us up well for the next 12 months. During 2019, we deployed the proceeds of two fund-raises into more high-quality properties. We extended our debt facility based on continuing demand from local Commissioners and are approaching the optimal target level of gearing. We met our dividend target and are making progress towards fully covering the dividend," said Chair Christopher Philips.
Shares in Triple Point Social Housing were up 3.1% at 83.95 pence on Friday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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